Wednesday, December 12, 2007

In the beginning of the book the main character, Jan, is on her way to a shelter, she is homeless at age 15. She' on a block where people try and sell her drugs and alcohol but Jan knows she must keep moving so that she can get to the shelter. When she first gets to the shelter a nun, who is the head at the shelter, asks her to explain why it is that she is coming to stay at the shelter. She explains to the nun that her mom would get abused by her stepfather, Dave, and how she would always swear to her that she wasn't going to take him back and continuously she did. She is brought to her foam mattress in the corner of a big room where 17 other teenage girls stayed, out of which, she was the only white girl. She starts telling us about her family situation. There was Dave, the temperamental, wacked up, abusive, stepfather. And her mother who was so weak willed. She explains how Dave and her mother have been together for 7 months. In those 7 months they have broken up 4 times. Each time they break up Jan's mother tells Jan that it is just "them two" now and that Dave isn't coming back... well... each time, Dave DID come back, after about the 3rd comeback, Dave and Jan's mom had a baby. They broke up and got back together a lot before one day, Dave and Jan's mom got into a big argument and Jan's mom told Jan that she'd never take Dave back again. Jan didn't believe her and only said that if he came back, she was leaving. Well, Dave came back after about a month and a half and now here Jan is, at a shelter. She also talks about how every time her ends a relationship, most of the time there is another one waiting, or sometimes there are 2 or 3 weeks where its just Jan and her mother. She is now at the shelter, she has 2 best friends, Treece and Shauna, and they are talking about Jan's curfew which is 9 pm and how that sucked for Jan because Treese and Shauna hang out with a bunch of people and go see movies and stuff without her. This is where the 1st section of my book ends.

2 vocabulary words:1. Averted (5)Definition: to have turned away2. Squalling (21)Definition: a loud harsh crySentence of Emerging Theme:You miss me yet, Mom? Just like you missed Dave so much you just had to take him back. (3)

Thursday, November 29, 2007

In the beginning of the book the main character, Jan, is on her way to a shelter, she is homeless at age 15. She' on a block where people try and sell her drugs and alcohol but Jan knows she must keep moving so that she can get to the shelter. When she first gets to the shelter a nun, who is the head at the shelter, asks her to explain why it is that she is coming to stay at the shelter. She explains to the nun that her mom would get abused by her stepfather, Dave, and how she would always swear to her that she wasn't going to take him back and continuously she did. She is brought to her foam mattress in the corner of a big room where 17 other teenage girls stayed, out of which, she was the only white girl. She starts telling us about her family situation. There was Dave, the temperamental, wacked up, abusive, stepfather. And her mother who was so weak willed. She explains how Dave and her mother have been together for 7 months. In those 7 months they have broken up 4 times. Each time they break up Jan's mother tells Jan that it is just "them two" now and that Dave isn't coming back... well... each time, Dave DID come back, after about the 3rd comeback, Dave and Jan's mom had a baby. They broke up and got back together a lot before one day, Dave and Jan's mom got into a big argument and Jan's mom told Jan that she'd never take Dave back again. Jan didn't believe her and only said that if he came back, she was leaving. Well, Dave came back after about a month and a half and now here Jan is, at a shelter. She also talks about how every time her ends a relationship, most of the time there is another one waiting, or sometimes there are 2 or 3 weeks where its just Jan and her mother. She is now at the shelter, she has 2 best friends, Treece and Shauna, and they are talking about Jan's curfew which is 9 pm and how that sucked for Jan because Treese and Shauna hang out with a bunch of people and go see movies and stuff without her. This is where the 1st section of my book ends.

Political: These debates occur all over the place. The purpose of these debates is to see the opinion of that person and how he/she would do to fix it. It sometimes can help arrive at a better decision because they get many ideas on how to solve it.This debate is structured.

Education: These debates occur in all states and cities. The purpose of these debates is to figure out better ways for our students to learn and to educate all students. "No child left behind".Yes it does help arrive at a better decision. The debate is structured.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

1. "Instead, I'll wallow in my depression because today is Cinco de Mayo, and I'm stuck here in Illinois. It's the first time in years that i haven't spent this weekend recharging my batteries in Las Vegas, gaming, relaxing, and jump-starting my summer tan." (154) - Jen Lancaster

I think this quote is significant the book because it shows how she misses her old sorority days, but at the same time she is choosing to stay and work at a job so that she can get her life on track. This strikes me as a turning point for Jen Lancaster.

In this section of the book, Jen, is searching for a new job. She tries jobs such as, waitress, dog walker, babysitter. None of which seem to work for her, she always ends up opening her mouth and saying something to her employer that gets her fired. We find out that Jen really does not like to work and that she is living with a homosexual man. They are pretty much fighting through out the whole section, he keeps telling her that she needs to keep her big mouth shut, she's no longer a sorority girl and that she needs to become lady like and get over herself. All she is saying to him is making fun of his homosexuality and how he doesn't have a good sense of style. So far I'm starting to get really into this book, but at the same time I think it's kind of stupid. She runs into a guy that she instantly falls for, but he finds her absolutely annoying with all her selfishness. I find that kind of, I don't really know the word... well its definitely the opposite of when she was back in college, she could get every guy she wanted. I predict that she will learn her lesson, woman up and stop being so selfish and eventually fall in love with a guy that loves her back.

I am reading the bookBitter Is The New Black; Confessions of a condescending, egomaniacal, self centered, smart-ass, or why you should never carry a Prada Bag to the unemployment office by Jen Lancaster.

Yes, it is an extremely long title, but the book was much like it. The first 100 pages of this book were, in my opinion, very entertaining and sounds like what a college girl would really say, do and think. My reaction to this part of the book, well, i found it extremely funny and I liked it because she is like everything there is to be stereotyped about a college sorority girl. This part is mainly about her looking for a job and a bunch of emails going between her and her ex-boss, what she wants to say, and what she did say.

My prediction for the rest of the book is that she is going to graduate from college, get kicked out of her house, live in an apartment in a completely different neighborhood then wheres she's from and learn what its like to actually live in the real world. I'm really excited to finish the book.